#**[Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics](https://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large-5/ussr-coat-of-arms-serge-averbukh.jpg)**

##**[Minister of Internal Affairs Sergei Kruglov, Ministry for State Security](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/State_Emblem_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg)**

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The Soviet Union, in conjunction with diplomatic missions will begin to send legal and identified officials under *[Residency](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resident_spy)* of existing foreign diplomatic missions under a new initiative known as the 'Rezidentura Program'. With this, assets of this nomenclature will find themselves under a legal residency while in this acting nation. Members under this program will be trained and exist under specific attache's of the Soviet Foreign Programs. Legal Rezidenti (residents) will find themselves operating under official papers, under official membership of the consular/ambassadorial staff including commercial, cultural, or military attache's.

Under this, they will obtain diplomatic immunity from prosecution and cannot be arrested by the host country if suspected of espionage, however they can be expelled under persona non grata.

The distinction and separation allows us to maintain communication with unofficial assets, or "illegal residents" who are operating under non-official cover. Naturally, they do not claim immunity from prosecution including charges of espionage. They have authority and authorization to operate under a different name but have no true legal binding to the Soviet Union if discovered.


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[M] Spy programs. Watch The American, guys! Or at least Burn Notice.

>*A legal resident spy has full and aboveboard access to embassy facilities for secure communications, meetings, and other services. An illegal resident spy has little to no access to such facilities, and communications arrangements are thus more difficult and time-consuming. An illegal resident spy will usually have a falsified biography. A legal resident spy may be at risk by having an official biography that documents their diplomatic career and provides useful clues to counterintelligence services about their intelligence activities and connections.*